Stock Market Today: Global Shares Mixed After Wall Street Rallies

Tokyo, Nov 29 (AP) Global shares were trading mixed on Wednesday although a strong report on US consumer confidence and hopes the Federal Reserve is finished with its aggressive interest rate hikes sent shares higher on Wall Street.

France's CAC 40 edged up 0.1 per cent in early trading to 7,260.05, while Germany's DAX added nearly 0.4 per cent at 16,051.04. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.3 per cent to 7,432.30. US shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.3 per cent at 35,539.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3 per cent to 4,574.75.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 0.3 per cent to finish at 33,321.22. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 per cent to 7,035.30. South Korea's Kospi shed nearly 0.1 per cent to 2,519.81. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.1 per cent to 16,993.44, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6 per cent to 3,021.69.

Heavy selling of Chinese technology and property shares pulled benchmarks lower. Food delivery company Meituan's Hong Kong-traded shares dropped 11 per cent after it forecast its revenue will fall in the current quarter. Troubled property developer China Evergrande sank 10 per cent following reports that its property services group was suing the parent company to recover deposit guarantees.

Oil prices were little changed ahead of a meeting of OPEC members set for Thursday.

“OPEC+ is struggling to reach an agreement to extend production cuts, leaving the oil market in flux, Matthew Weller of Forex.com said in a report. ”While not the most likely scenario, a collapse in talks could take oil prices to multi-month lows."

Benchmark US crude edged up 7 cents to USD 76.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained USD 1.55 to USD 76.41 a barrel on Tuesday.

Brent crude added 8 cents to USD 81.76 a barrel.

Investors are closely watching economic updates this week for more clues about how consumers feel and whether the rate of inflation is still easing.

The Federal Reserve will meet again in December to update its interest rate policy. The central bank had been raising rates to push inflation back down to 2 per cent and has been closing in on that goal. The central bank has been working to lower rates while trying to avoid a recession in what is referred to as a “soft landing" for the economy. The latest economic data adds to hopes for that outcome.

In currency trading, the US dollar fell to 147.17 Japanese yen from 147.50 yen. The euro cost USD 1.0999, inching up from USD 1.0992. (AP)